COVID-19 Pandemic Committee on May 28th, 2020

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, that is exactly the point. This isn't Parliament; this is a committee meeting. We do not have Parliament. This is a virtual committee.

A Saskatchewan producer called me and said that he tried to use the online AgriStability calculator. He said that most farmers can't use it, that in fact they can't put in their inventory changes. This means it will give them erroneous information.

Why is the agriculture minister touting this lifeline for farmers when it doesn't actually work?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, the agricultural sector is critical to our country, and the questions some of us have been asking around food security have reminded us how lucky we are, as Canadians, to be living in an agricultural superpower.

When it comes to the specific technical questions that farmers have, they should turn to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, who will be delighted to help.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Could the Deputy Prime Minister tell me how much it cost to develop this online AgriStability calculator?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

What I can say is that we are very mindful of and very grateful for the extremely—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We'll go back to Mr. Barlow.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, farmers have even hired accountants to try to navigate this shiny online calculator, but they've been told they would go broke before they received any money.

Will the government admit that this is just a fig leaf before any actual assistance will come to Canadian farmers?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, very many farmers, and certainly many of the farmers of my acquaintance, have worked with accountants for a very long time. Farmers are sophisticated business people who deal in the futures markets every day. They run hugely important businesses—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

We will go back to Mr. Barlow.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, it's that kind of condescension that is so frustrating to Canadian farmers. They shouldn't have to hire an accountant to figure out an assistance program.

The last time I questioned the Prime Minister and the minister about the secret carbon tax data, they said that only part of it was secret and that the rest of it would be given to the House. I have yet to receive it.

Will that be tabled today, in both official languages, to justify to Canadian farmers why the government has increased the carbon tax in the midst of a pandemic?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, what is condescending is to behave as if farmers are not highly sophisticated businessmen. They hire economists. They hire agronomists. They are at the cutting edge. I am proud of the sophistication of Canadian farmers, and I'm proud of the support we offer them.

[Some honourable members]

Oh, oh!

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

I want to remind the honourable members that the background noise and the heckling really make it difficult for the members who are tuning in via Zoom. I just want to make sure they're aware of what they're doing to our colleagues who are online.

We will go back to Mr. Barlow.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Chair, for 64 days the finance minister has failed to deliver on his promise to assist Canada's energy sector. Small oil and gas companies still can't qualify for BDC loans, and last week's announcement for large employers, in my opinion, was nothing of exploitive. If the government doesn't fulfill its promise to provide support for the energy sector, it is in turn supporting unethically sourced foreign oil and costing good reliable Canadian jobs.

After 64 days, when will the credit options be available to Canada's small and medium-sized energy companies?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, I agree with the member opposite about one thing: The energy sector and energy workers are absolutely essential to our economy, and we support them.

One of the things I am most proud of is the $1.7 billion our government has committed to cleaning up orphan wells. That money today has created jobs in Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan. People are working because of it, and they are cleaning up their communities thanks to that support.

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'll try not to spend too much time.

Will the Liberal Party of Canada pay back the money it took from the wage subsidy program, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, the purpose of the wage subsidy is to support workers, help them keep their jobs and keep them connected to their workplace—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'll take that as a no.

In my riding, Trillium Media owns several weeklies. The company doesn't qualify for the wage subsidy because it has suffered losses of 28% instead of 30%. The historic village of Val-Jalbert is in the same situation.

Does the Liberal Party of Canada consider itself to be in greater financial difficulty than the historic village of Val-Jalbert and Trillium Media?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, allow me to remind the hon. member opposite what we're doing to support Canadians: more than 8 million Canadians have received the Canada emergency response benefit.

In addition, 635,000 businesses have received loans through the Canada emergency business account.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'll take that as a yes.

Does my hon. colleague take into account the fact that the billions of dollars that are currently being handed out come from taxpayers' pockets? It even comes from the pockets of people who have lost their jobs and who pay taxes when they go to the corner store.

On the other side of the House, is it considered justified for multi-million dollar parties to finance themselves with public funds, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would like to continue by reminding my colleague opposite what our government is doing today to support Canadians and Quebeckers: 293 applications for the Canada emergency wage subsidy have been approved.

Over 2 million Canadians today have—

[The Chair, Liberal, Anthony Rota]

Mr. Brunelle-Duceppe, you have the floor.

[Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, Bloc, Lac-Saint-Jean, QC]

Mr. Chair, I'll take that as a yes.

It's fantastic! The money that the Liberals are going to get from the wage subsidy is going to go directly into their election kitty.

When they go to get their election expenses reimbursed, they're going to get 60% of that money back. So they'll have made the wage subsidy work for them. The businesses that'll have access to it won't, but the political parties will.

Doesn't that contravene the Canada Elections Act, yes or no?

[Chrystia Freeland, Liberal, University—Rosedale, ON]

Mr. Chair, our programs don't discriminate. They're there to help all workers, to help all Canadians, to help all Quebeckers.

The hon. member talked about companies and sectors that need more help. We agree with that. We think we all need to work together to continue to help Canadians and Quebeckers—